FRAMINGHAM — The traffic leaving Boston may have caused headaches, but the trip home from Loring Arena turned out to be well worth it Thursday night.
Philip Boncore sniped a pair of goals to go with an assist, as fifth-seeded Winthrop (14-6-2) punched its ticket to the Div. 4 boys hockey semifinals for the second consecutive season with a convincing 4-0 victory over No. 4 Littleton (19-4) at Loring Arena.
If you were a Winthrop fan scampering in from the parking lot, you may have been pleased to hear the sound of cheering. That’s because Boncore wasted only two minutes of playing time before his first tally, sniping the cage to provide the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
“We’ve been doing that a lot lately,” Boncore said. “We’ve been getting the first one, then kind of dying down a little bit. But tonight, we stayed in it. We stayed moving, and we just wanted it.”
The momentum carried into the second stanza, as a loose puck rolled to Dom Spinale in front of the Littleton net. The sophomore backhanded a shot into the twine, as Winthrop built a 2-0 edge with 10:40 left in the period.
With 9:18 left in regulation, Boncore slipped a pass to the top of the crease, where Joe Pumphret was positioned perfectly. The sophomore chipped a shot home for the dagger, sealing the victory for Winthrop as its student section erupted, ironically all draped in traffic attire as part of a school theme. Boncore would tack on his second for good measure to make it 4-0 with 3:55 remaining.
Pumphret also added an assist for the Vikings in the win. The loss ended a fine season for Littleton.
Winthrop’s victory sets up a meeting with top-ranked Stoneham in the semifinals. Vikings coach Dale Dunbar says the team does not plan on implementing any major changes.
“Same (plan) as any other game,” said Dunbar. “There’s nobody different, nothing else we’re going to see differently. They’ve got some good forwards, some ‘d’ that can jump in the play, and we’re almost that same type of team. It will probably come down to a bounce. Hopefully, we can be on the right side of things and keep things going.”